In this book, the authors present research and theory to argue that metalinguistic awareness of one's native language is altered by either the acquisition or the learning of a second language. The main argument is that people with more than one language have different knowledge of their first language (L1) than do monolingual people, and this difference can mainly be due to the effect of subsequent languages on the development and use of L1 skills.

This book offers:
-- a multilingual perspective which emphasizes that knowledge of two or more languages results in a unique and complex competence that is not equal to the sum of knowledge of monolingual speakers of those languages,
-- an attempt to demonstrate that effective foreign language learning can lead to multicompetence even if the socio-cultural background of the target language is not present,
-- a cognitive-pragmatic perspective of language representation and processing which means a move away from the lexical-syntactic approach that has been dominating bilingual research,
-- a discussion of the effect of foreign language learning on the use and development of mother tongue skills which will focus not only on demonstrating that this influence exists but also explaining how this takes place by reexamining and discussing issues such as conceptualization in a second language, metalinguistic awareness, linguistic relativity, relationship of thought and word, and transfer of skills, and
-- an opportunity for educators to rethink and reevaluate the importance and impact of foreign language teaching and learning on the development of human personality, mother tongue use, and overall growth of the individual.

This is the first book that discusses the effect of foreign language learning on first language processing. The authors argue that multilingual development is a dynamic and cumulative process characterized by transfer of different nature, and results in a common underlying conceptual base with two or more language channels that constantly interact with each other. Language representation and processing are discussed from a cognitive-pragmatic rather than a lexical-syntactic perspective. This required the review of several crucial issues of L2 acquisition, such as transfer, vocabulary development, conceptual fluency, and pragmatic skills. The authors also reviewed a large body of literature touching on cognitive psychology, linguistics, psycholinguistics, SLA, philosophy, and education in order to explain multilingual development and the positive effect of foreign language learning on the first language. An important read for linguists and language educators alike, this volume: * attempts to explain multilingual development from a cognitive-pragmatic perspective, * argues that foreign language learning has a positive effect on the development and use of mother tongue skills, * relies on research findings of several different disciplines, * builds on the results of quantitative research conducted by the authors, and touches on a wide range of literature.